Reading time: 12 minutes | Category: Google Ads | Audience: Business owners and marketing managers

Quick Summary: Your Google Ads dashboard is full of abbreviations, ratios, and metrics that can feel overwhelming. This glossary explains every term you will see in your ADM (Ads Dashboard Manager) report, written in plain language so you always know what your data is telling you.

What Is an ADM Report?

An ADM Report (Ads Dashboard Manager Report) is a custom Looker Studio dashboard built to give you a clear, visual overview of your Google Ads performance. Rather than logging into the Google Ads interface and trying to make sense of dozens of data tables, your ADM report pulls all the most important metrics into one easy-to-read place.

Your ADM report is designed to answer three big questions at a glance: How visible are your ads? How much are they costing? And are they actually driving results?

Every chart, table, and number in the report corresponds to a specific Google Ads metric. This glossary is your guide to understanding all of them.

Core Performance Metrics

These are the foundational numbers that tell you how your ads are performing at the most basic level. Think of them as the vital signs of your campaigns.

Impressions

An impression is counted every single time your ad appears on a screen, whether that is on a Google search results page, a website in the Google Display Network, or a YouTube video. One impression means one person (or one search) saw your ad.

Impressions are a measure of reach and visibility. A high impression count means your ads are getting in front of a lot of people. However, impressions alone do not tell you whether those people were interested enough to take action.

Clicks

A click is recorded when a user actively clicks on your ad. This is the moment they move from simply seeing your ad to expressing genuine interest by visiting your website or landing page.

Clicks are one of the most important signals in your report because they represent real human interest. If your impressions are high but your clicks are low, it usually means your ad copy or targeting needs attention.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who clicked on your ad after seeing it. It is calculated using this simple formula:

CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100

For example, if your ad received 1,000 impressions and 30 clicks, your CTR would be 3%. A higher CTR generally means your ad is relevant and compelling to the audience seeing it. Industry averages vary by sector, but a CTR above 5% is considered strong for most search campaigns.

Metric	Formula	What a High Number Means
Impressions	Counted automatically	Your ads have strong visibility
Clicks	Counted automatically	Users are engaging with your ads
CTR	(Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100	Your ad copy is relevant and compelling

Cost and Efficiency Metrics

These metrics tell you how your budget is being spent and how efficiently your campaigns are converting that spend into results. They are the financial backbone of your report.

Cost

Cost is the total amount of money spent on your Google Ads campaigns during the selected date range. This is the raw dollar figure that forms the basis for all other financial calculations in your report.

Average Cost Per Click (Avg. CPC)

Average Cost Per Click (Avg. CPC) is the average amount you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. It is calculated by dividing your total cost by your total number of clicks.

Avg. CPC = Total Cost ÷ Total Clicks

Your CPC is determined by a real-time auction that Google runs every time a user performs a search. The amount you pay depends on your bid, your Quality Score, and the competition for that keyword at that moment.

Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)

CPM stands for Cost Per Mille, where “mille” is the Latin word for thousand. It is the amount you pay for every 1,000 times your ad is shown. CPM is most commonly used in Display and YouTube campaigns where the goal is brand awareness rather than immediate clicks.

CPM = (Total Cost ÷ Total Impressions) × 1,000

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures how much revenue you generate for every dollar you spend on advertising. It is one of the most important efficiency metrics for e-commerce businesses.

ROAS = Total Conversion Value ÷ Total Ad Spend

A ROAS of 4 means you earned $4 in revenue for every $1 spent. Your target ROAS will depend on your profit margins and business goals.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI) goes one step further than ROAS by factoring in the cost of goods or services sold, not just the ad spend. It gives you a true picture of profitability.

ROI = (Revenue − Cost of Goods − Ad Spend) ÷ Ad Spend × 100

Metric	Formula	Best Used For
Cost	Tracked automatically	Understanding total budget used
Avg. CPC	Total Cost ÷ Clicks	Evaluating bid efficiency
CPM	(Cost ÷ Impressions) × 1,000	Brand awareness campaigns
ROAS	Conversion Value ÷ Ad Spend	E-commerce revenue efficiency
ROI	(Revenue − Costs) ÷ Ad Spend × 100	Overall profitability

Google Ads ad format strategy guide showing when to use RSA, Performance Max, Display Ads, and Call Assets

Conversion Metrics

Conversions are the heart of your Google Ads strategy. They represent the actions that matter most to your business, whether that is a phone call, a form submission, a purchase, or a booking.

Conversions

A conversion is recorded when a user completes a goal action after clicking on your ad. The specific actions that count as conversions are set up in advance using Google Ads conversion tracking or Google Analytics. Common conversions include:

Completing a purchase on your website
Submitting a contact or quote request form
Calling your business from a call extension
Booking an appointment online
Downloading a brochure or guide

Conversion Rate

Conversion Rate is the percentage of ad clicks that resulted in a conversion. It tells you how effective your landing page and offer are at turning interested visitors into customers.

Conversion Rate = (Conversions ÷ Clicks) × 100

A conversion rate of 5% means that for every 100 people who clicked your ad, 5 completed your desired action. Improving your conversion rate is often more cost-effective than simply increasing your ad budget.

Cost Per Conversion (CPA)

Cost Per Conversion (CPA), also called Cost Per Action, tells you how much it costs on average to acquire one conversion. It is the most direct measure of how efficiently your campaigns are generating results.

CPA = Total Cost ÷ Total Conversions

If your CPA is $50 and your average customer is worth $500, your campaigns are highly profitable. If your CPA is $500 and your average customer is worth $200, your campaigns need immediate attention.

Conversion Value

Conversion Value is the total monetary value assigned to all conversions during a given period. For e-commerce, this is typically the actual purchase revenue. For lead generation businesses, you can assign an estimated value to each lead based on your average close rate and deal size.

All Conversions

All Conversions is a broader metric that includes all the conversion actions tracked in your account, including some that may not appear in the standard “Conversions” column. This can include store visits, cross-device conversions, and other modelled conversions.

View-Through Conversions

View-Through Conversions are recorded when a user sees your display or video ad but does not click on it (Google: About view-through conversions), and then later converts on your website through another channel. This metric helps you understand the indirect influence of your brand awareness campaigns.

Metric	Formula	What It Tells You
Conversions	Tracked automatically	Total goal completions from your ads
Conversion Rate	(Conversions ÷ Clicks) × 100	How well your landing page converts visitors
CPA	Total Cost ÷ Conversions	How much each result costs you
Conversion Value	Assigned per conversion type	The total revenue or value generated

Quality and Relevance Metrics

Google rewards advertisers who create relevant, high-quality ads with lower costs and better ad placement. These metrics tell you how Google rates the quality of your campaigns.

Infographic showing three key Google Ads metrics: CTR (Click-Through Rate), CPA (Cost Per Acquisition), and ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) with their formulas

Quality Score

Quality Score is Google’s rating of the quality and relevance (read Google’s Quality Score guide) of your keywords, ads, and landing pages. It is scored on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. A higher Quality Score leads to lower CPCs and better ad positions.

Quality Score is made up of three components:

Expected Click-Through Rate: How likely your ad is to be clicked
Ad Relevance: How closely your ad matches the intent of the search
Landing Page Experience: How relevant and useful your landing page is to users

Ad Strength

Ad Strength is a rating specific to Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) and Performance Max campaigns. (Google: About Ad Strength) It is rated as Poor, Average, Good, or Excellent. Ad Strength reflects how well your combination of headlines, descriptions, and assets is likely to perform. It is not a direct ranking factor but is a useful guide for improving your creative assets.

Ad Relevance

Ad Relevance is a component of Quality Score that measures how closely your ad matches the intent behind a user’s search. If a user searches for “emergency plumber” and your ad headline says “Reliable Plumbing Services,” your ad relevance will be rated as Above Average. If your ad is too generic, it will be rated as Below Average.

Expected Click-Through Rate

Expected Click-Through Rate is Google’s prediction of how often your ad will be clicked relative to other ads competing for the same keyword. It is based on historical data and is one of the three components of Quality Score.

Landing Page Experience

Landing Page Experience measures how relevant, transparent, and easy to navigate your landing page is for users who click your ad. Google evaluates factors such as page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and whether the page content matches what was promised in the ad.

Visibility and Reach Metrics

These metrics tell you how much of the available search traffic your ads are actually capturing. They are essential for understanding whether your budget and bids are competitive enough.

Search Impression Share

Search Impression Share is the percentage of impressions your ads received compared to the total number of impressions they were eligible to receive based on your targeting settings. (Google: Impression share data)

Search Impression Share = Impressions Received ÷ Total Eligible Impressions

For example, if your ads were eligible to appear 10,000 times but only appeared 6,000 times, your impression share is 60%. The remaining 40% was lost, either due to budget constraints or low Ad Rank.

Search Top Impression Share

Search Top Impression Share is the percentage of your impressions that appeared anywhere above the organic search results (i.e., in the top ad positions). Ads in the top positions receive significantly more clicks than those at the bottom of the page.

Search Absolute Top Impression Share

Search Absolute Top Impression Share measures the percentage of your impressions that appeared as the very first ad above the organic search results. This is the most prominent position on the page and typically generates the highest CTR.

Lost Impression Share (Budget)

Lost Impression Share (Budget) is the percentage of eligible impressions your ads missed out on because your daily budget ran out. If this number is high, it is a strong signal that you should consider increasing your budget.

Lost Impression Share (Rank)

Lost Impression Share (Rank) is the percentage of eligible impressions your ads missed out on because your Ad Rank was not high enough. Ad Rank is determined by your bid, Quality Score, and the context of the search. Improving your Quality Score or increasing your bids can help recover this lost share.

Metric	What It Measures	How to Improve It
Search Impression Share	% of eligible impressions captured	Increase budget or improve Ad Rank
Search Top Impression Share	% of impressions in top positions	Increase bids or Quality Score
Absolute Top Impression Share	% of impressions in position #1	Increase bids significantly or improve Quality Score
Lost IS (Budget)	Impressions lost due to budget	Increase daily budget
Lost IS (Rank)	Impressions lost due to low Ad Rank	Improve Quality Score or raise bids

Campaign Structure Terminology

Understanding how your Google Ads account is organised helps you make sense of the data in your report.

Campaign

A campaign is the top level of your Google Ads account structure. Each campaign has its own budget, geographic targeting, network settings, and bidding strategy. You might have separate campaigns for different products, services, or geographic regions.

Ad Group

An ad group sits inside a campaign and contains a set of related keywords and the ads that are triggered by those keywords. Organising your ad groups around tight, specific themes helps improve your Quality Score and ad relevance.

Keywords

Keywords are the words and phrases that trigger your ads to appear. When a user’s search query matches one of your keywords, Google enters your ad into the auction for that search.

Match Types

Match Types control how closely a user’s search query must match your keyword for your ad to be eligible to appear. (Google: Keyword matching options) There are three match types:

Broad Match: Your ad can appear for searches that are related to your keyword, even if they do not contain the exact words.
Phrase Match: Your ad appears for searches that include the meaning of your keyword. The Quotations “” are used.
Exact Match: Your ad appears only for searches that have the same meaning as your keyword. Square brackets [before and after the word] are used

Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are terms you add to your account, exclusion list(s), campaign or ad group level to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches. For example, if you sell premium furniture, you might add “cheap” or “free” as negative keywords to avoid wasting budget on users who are unlikely to buy.

Ad Schedule

An ad schedule (also called day parting) allows you to control the specific days and hours during which your ads are shown. (Google: About ad scheduling) You can also apply bid adjustments to increase or decrease your bids during your highest-converting time periods.

Bidding Strategy

A bidding strategy tells Google how to set your bids for each auction. Common strategies include:

Target CPA: Google automatically sets bids to help you get as many conversions as possible at your target cost per conversion. (Google: Target CPA)
Target ROAS: Google sets bids to maximize conversion value while achieving your target return on ad spend. (Google: Target ROAS)
Maximize Clicks: Google sets bids to get the most clicks possible within your budget. (Google: Smart Bidding)
Maximize Conversions: Google sets bids to get the most conversions possible within your budget. (Google: Maximize conversions)
Manual CPC: You set your own maximum bid for each keyword.

Ad Format Terminology

Google Ads offers several different ad formats, each designed for different goals and placements.

Responsive Search Ads (RSA)

Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) are the standard, foundational ad format for Google Search campaigns. You provide up to 15 headlines, 4 descriptions, and 2 display path fields, and Google’s machine learning automatically tests different combinations to find the highest-performing version for each individual searcher.

What they are good for: Capturing high-intent search traffic and answering specific user queries with highly relevant messaging.
Why they work: They adapt dynamically to match exactly what the user is searching for. By providing a mix of features, benefits, and calls-to-action, the algorithm learns which combinations drive the highest CTR and conversion rates.
When to use them in a strategy: RSAs are the core of any search-based lead generation or e-commerce strategy. Use them to target specific keywords when users are actively looking for your product or service. They are your primary tool for capturing existing demand.

Performance Max (PMax)

Performance Max is a goal-based, automated campaign type (Performance Max overview) that runs ads across all of Google’s channels from a single campaign, including Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and Maps. You provide creative assets (images, videos, headlines, descriptions, and logos), and Google’s AI determines the best combination and placement to achieve your conversion goals.

What they are good for: Scaling conversions and finding new customers across the entire Google ecosystem, not just on the search results page.
Why they work: They leverage Google’s most advanced machine learning to optimize bids and placements in real-time based on your specific conversion goals (like ROAS or CPA).
When to use them in a strategy: Use PMax when you have clear conversion tracking in place, a solid budget, and high-quality image and video assets. It is highly effective for e-commerce (replacing Smart Shopping) and lead generation when you want to maximize overall volume and are willing to give up some manual control to the algorithm.

Display Ads

Display Ads are visual banner ads (images or HTML5) that appear on millions of websites, apps, and YouTube videos across the Google Display Network.

What they are good for: Brand awareness, keeping your business top-of-mind, and retargeting users who have previously visited your website but didn’t convert.
Why they work: They are highly visual and can reach users before they even start actively searching for your product. The cost-per-click (CPC) is typically much lower than Search ads.
When to use them in a strategy: Use Display Ads at the top of the funnel to build demand and introduce your brand to a targeted audience. They are also crucial for the bottom of the funnel as part of a remarketing strategy to bring “window shoppers” back to your site to complete a purchase or form submission.

Call Assets (Formerly Call Extensions)

(Note: Google deprecated standalone “Call-Only Ads” starting in February 2026. Phone call generation is now handled through Call Assets within Responsive Search Ads.)

Call Assets are ad components that display your business phone number alongside your text ad. On mobile devices, they appear as a clickable “Call” button, allowing users to phone you directly from the search results without visiting your website first.

What they are good for: Driving immediate, high-intent leads, especially for urgent services (like emergency plumbers, towing, or healthcare) where the user needs to speak to someone right away.
Why they work: They reduce friction by removing the need to navigate a landing page, directly connecting a high-intent searcher with your sales or support team.
When to use them in a strategy: Always include them in Search campaigns if your business has the capacity to answer the phone during ad schedule hours. They are essential for local service businesses and lead-generation campaigns where a phone conversation is the primary sales driver.

Asset Groups

Asset Groups are used within Performance Max campaigns. They are collections of creative assets (images, videos, headlines, descriptions, and calls to action) that are grouped together around a specific theme or audience. Google uses these assets to automatically build ads across all its channels.

What they are good for: Organising your creative assets by product category, audience type, or promotion so that the right message reaches the right person.
Why they work: By grouping relevant assets together, you help Google’s AI serve the most contextually appropriate ad for each user and placement, improving performance.
When to use them in a strategy: Build separate Asset Groups for each major product line, service offering, or audience segment within your Performance Max campaign. The more specific and well-organised your Asset Groups, the better Google’s AI can optimise.

Ad Extensions (Assets)

Ad Extensions, now officially called Assets in Google Ads, are additional pieces of information that expand your ad and make it more useful to potential customers. Assets make your ad physically larger on the page, which increases visibility and CTR without increasing your cost-per-click.

What they are good for: Giving searchers more reasons to click and more ways to engage with your business directly from the search results page.
Why they work: A larger, more informative ad takes up more screen real estate, pushes competitors further down the page, and provides multiple entry points (links, calls, locations) that match different user intentions.
When to use them in a strategy: Always add every relevant asset type to every campaign. Assets are one of the highest-ROI improvements you can make to an existing campaign because they improve performance at no additional cost.

Common asset types include:

Sitelink Assets: Additional links to specific pages on your website
Callout Assets: Short phrases highlighting key benefits or offers
Call Assets: Your phone number displayed directly in the ad (now the primary way to generate calls following the deprecation of Call-Only Ads)
Location Assets: Your business address linked to Google Maps
Image Assets: Visual images shown alongside your text ad
Lead Form Assets: A form that users can fill out directly within the ad
Structured Snippet Assets: Lists of specific products, services, or features

Audience and Targeting Terminology

Reaching the right people at the right time is what separates a profitable Google Ads campaign from a wasteful one. These terms describe how your targeting is configured.

Audience Segments

Audience Segments are groups of users defined by their interests, behaviours, demographics, or past interactions with your business. (Google: About audience segments) You can target these segments to show your ads to the most relevant users, or use them as observation layers to gather data on how different audiences perform.

Remarketing

Remarketing (also called retargeting) is the practice of showing ads specifically to users who have previously visited your website or interacted with your business. Because these users have already shown interest, remarketing campaigns typically achieve higher conversion rates and lower CPAs than campaigns targeting cold audiences.

Customer Match

Customer Match allows you to upload a list of your existing customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, or mailing addresses. (Google: About Customer Match) Google matches these to signed-in Google users and allows you to show ads specifically to your existing customer base, or to find new customers who look similar to them.

Similar Segments

Similar Segments (formerly Similar Audiences) are automatically generated by Google based on your existing audience lists. Google identifies users who share characteristics with your existing customers or website visitors and creates a new targetable segment from them.

Geographic Targeting

Geographic Targeting (also called location targeting) allows you to specify the cities, regions, countries, or radius around a location where you want your ads to appear. This ensures your budget is only spent reaching users in areas relevant to your business.

Device Targeting

Device Targeting allows you to control whether your ads appear on desktops, tablets, or mobile phones. You can also apply bid adjustments to increase or decrease your bids for specific device types based on their performance data.

Reporting and Date Range Terms

These terms relate to how data is organised and displayed within your ADM report.

Date Range Comparisons

Your ADM report allows you to compare performance across two different time periods. For example, you might compare this month’s performance to last month, or this year to last year. When you see a percentage change with an arrow (up or down), it is showing you the difference between the two selected periods.

Segments

Segments allow you to break down your data by a specific dimension, such as device type, time of day, day of week, or network (Search vs. Display). Segmenting your data helps you identify patterns and opportunities that are not visible in the aggregated totals.

Dimensions vs. Metrics

In Google Ads reporting, it is important to understand the difference between dimensions and metrics.

A dimension is a descriptive attribute of your data, such as Campaign Name, Ad Group, Keyword, or Device. Dimensions tell you what you are looking at.
A metric is a quantitative measurement, such as Clicks, Impressions, Cost, or Conversions. Metrics tell you how much of something occurred.

Every table in your ADM report is built by combining dimensions (the rows) with metrics (the columns).

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ADM stand for in Google Ads reporting?

ADM stands for Ads Dashboard Manager. It refers to the custom Looker Studio reporting dashboard used to present your Google Ads performance data in a clear, visual format. The ADM report pulls data directly from your Google Ads account and presents it in an easy-to-understand layout.

What is the difference between Conversions and All Conversions in Google Ads?

The “Conversions” column includes only the conversion actions you have specifically chosen to include in your bidding. The “All Conversions” column is broader and includes every conversion action tracked in your account, including store visits, cross-device conversions, and other modelled conversions that may not be included in the standard column.

Why does my Search Impression Share fluctuate from week to week?

Search Impression Share can fluctuate due to changes in your budget, changes in competitor activity, seasonal shifts in search volume, or changes to your bids and Quality Scores. A sudden drop in impression share is often a signal that a competitor has increased their bids or that your budget is no longer sufficient to compete effectively.

What is a good Click-Through Rate (CTR) for Google Ads?

CTR benchmarks vary significantly by industry, campaign type, and ad position. For Search campaigns, a CTR above 5% is generally considered strong, while anything above 10% is excellent. Display campaigns typically have much lower CTRs, often below 1%, because users are not actively searching for your product when they see a display ad.

What is the difference between CPC and CPA?

CPC (Cost Per Click) measures how much you pay each time someone clicks your ad. CPA (Cost Per Acquisition or Cost Per Conversion) measures how much you pay for each completed conversion, such as a lead or sale. CPA is calculated by dividing your total cost by your total conversions, and it is a more meaningful measure of campaign efficiency for most businesses.

How does Quality Score affect my Google Ads costs?

Quality Score has a direct impact on your Ad Rank and the price you pay per click. Ads with a higher Quality Score can achieve better positions at a lower cost, because Google rewards relevance. Improving your Quality Score by writing more relevant ads and optimising your landing pages can significantly reduce your CPA over time.

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and how does it relate to Google Ads?

While GEO primarily applies to organic content, understanding GEO principles helps you create better ad copy and landing page content that aligns with how users phrase their questions to AI systems. At Seymour Digital Media, our content strategy Prioritize GEO and content building (we explicitly do not focus on traditional link building) to ensure your brand is represented accurately across both traditional and AI-driven search experiences.

What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?

This Not That: AEO is not about stuffing keywords into paragraphs; it is about formatting direct, factual answers (like this glossary) so AI models can easily extract and cite your expertise.

This glossary is produced by Seymour Digital Media to help our clients understand their Google Ads performance data. For questions about your specific report or campaign, please contact your account manager.

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What Is an ADM Report?

Your ADM report is designed to answer three big questions at a glance: How visible are your ads? How much are they costing? And are they actually driving results?

Every chart, table, and number in the report corresponds to a specific Google Ads metric. This glossary is your guide to understanding all of them.

Core Performance Metrics

These are the foundational numbers that tell you how your ads are performing at the most basic level. Think of them as the vital signs of your campaigns.

Impressions

Clicks

A click is recorded when a user actively clicks on your ad. This is the moment they move from simply seeing your ad to expressing genuine interest by visiting your website or landing page.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who clicked on your ad after seeing it. It is calculated using this simple formula:

CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100

Metric	Formula	What a High Number Means
Impressions	Counted automatically	Your ads have strong visibility
Clicks	Counted automatically	Users are engaging with your ads
CTR	(Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100	Your ad copy is relevant and compelling

Cost and Efficiency Metrics

These metrics tell you how your budget is being spent and how efficiently your campaigns are converting that spend into results. They are the financial backbone of your report.

Cost

Average Cost Per Click (Avg. CPC)

Average Cost Per Click (Avg. CPC) is the average amount you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. It is calculated by dividing your total cost by your total number of clicks.

Avg. CPC = Total Cost ÷ Total Clicks

Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)

CPM = (Total Cost ÷ Total Impressions) × 1,000

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures how much revenue you generate for every dollar you spend on advertising. It is one of the most important efficiency metrics for e-commerce businesses.

ROAS = Total Conversion Value ÷ Total Ad Spend

A ROAS of 4 means you earned $4 in revenue for every $1 spent. Your target ROAS will depend on your profit margins and business goals.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI) goes one step further than ROAS by factoring in the cost of goods or services sold, not just the ad spend. It gives you a true picture of profitability.

ROI = (Revenue − Cost of Goods − Ad Spend) ÷ Ad Spend × 100

Metric	Formula	Best Used For
Cost	Tracked automatically	Understanding total budget used
Avg. CPC	Total Cost ÷ Clicks	Evaluating bid efficiency
CPM	(Cost ÷ Impressions) × 1,000	Brand awareness campaigns
ROAS	Conversion Value ÷ Ad Spend	E-commerce revenue efficiency
ROI	(Revenue − Costs) ÷ Ad Spend × 100	Overall profitability

Conversion Metrics

Conversions are the heart of your Google Ads strategy. They represent the actions that matter most to your business, whether that is a phone call, a form submission, a purchase, or a booking.

Conversions

Completing a purchase on your website
Submitting a contact or quote request form
Calling your business from a call extension
Booking an appointment online
Downloading a brochure or guide

Conversion Rate

Conversion Rate is the percentage of ad clicks that resulted in a conversion. It tells you how effective your landing page and offer are at turning interested visitors into customers.

Conversion Rate = (Conversions ÷ Clicks) × 100

Cost Per Conversion (CPA)

CPA = Total Cost ÷ Total Conversions

If your CPA is $50 and your average customer is worth $500, your campaigns are highly profitable. If your CPA is $500 and your average customer is worth $200, your campaigns need immediate attention.

Conversion Value

All Conversions

View-Through Conversions

View-Through Conversions are recorded when a user sees your display or video ad but does not click on it, and then later converts on your website through another channel. This metric helps you understand the indirect influence of your brand awareness campaigns.

Metric	Formula	What It Tells You
Conversions	Tracked automatically	Total goal completions from your ads
Conversion Rate	(Conversions ÷ Clicks) × 100	How well your landing page converts visitors
CPA	Total Cost ÷ Conversions	How much each result costs you
Conversion Value	Assigned per conversion type	The total revenue or value generated

Quality and Relevance Metrics

Google rewards advertisers who create relevant, high-quality ads with lower costs and better ad placement. These metrics tell you how Google rates the quality of your campaigns.

Quality Score

Quality Score is Google’s rating of the quality and relevance of your keywords, ads, and landing pages. It is scored on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. A higher Quality Score leads to lower CPCs and better ad positions.

Quality Score is made up of three components:

Expected Click-Through Rate: How likely your ad is to be clicked
Ad Relevance: How closely your ad matches the intent of the search
Landing Page Experience: How relevant and useful your landing page is to users

Ad Strength

Ad Strength is a rating specific to Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) and Performance Max campaigns. It is rated as Poor, Average, Good, or Excellent. Ad Strength reflects how well your combination of headlines, descriptions, and assets is likely to perform. It is not a direct ranking factor but is a useful guide for improving your creative assets.

Ad Relevance

Expected Click-Through Rate

Landing Page Experience

Visibility and Reach Metrics

These metrics tell you how much of the available search traffic your ads are actually capturing. They are essential for understanding whether your budget and bids are competitive enough.

Search Impression Share

Search Impression Share is the percentage of impressions your ads received compared to the total number of impressions they were eligible to receive based on your targeting settings.

Search Impression Share = Impressions Received ÷ Total Eligible Impressions

For example, if your ads were eligible to appear 10,000 times but only appeared 6,000 times, your impression share is 60%. The remaining 40% was lost, either due to budget constraints or low Ad Rank.

Search Top Impression Share

Search Absolute Top Impression Share

Lost Impression Share (Budget)

Lost Impression Share (Rank)

Metric	What It Measures	How to Improve It
Search Impression Share	% of eligible impressions captured	Increase budget or improve Ad Rank
Search Top Impression Share	% of impressions in top positions	Increase bids or Quality Score
Absolute Top Impression Share	% of impressions in position #1	Increase bids significantly or improve Quality Score
Lost IS (Budget)	Impressions lost due to budget	Increase daily budget
Lost IS (Rank)	Impressions lost due to low Ad Rank	Improve Quality Score or raise bids

Campaign Structure Terminology

Understanding how your Google Ads account is organised helps you make sense of the data in your report.

Campaign

Ad Group

Keywords

Keywords are the words and phrases that trigger your ads to appear. When a user’s search query matches one of your keywords, Google enters your ad into the auction for that search.

Match Types

Match Types control how closely a user’s search query must match your keyword for your ad to be eligible to appear. There are three match types:

Broad Match: Your ad can appear for searches that are related to your keyword, even if they do not contain the exact words.
Phrase Match: Your ad appears for searches that include the meaning of your keyword.
Exact Match: Your ad appears only for searches that have the same meaning as your keyword.

Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are terms you add to your campaign to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches. For example, if you sell premium furniture, you might add “cheap” or “free” as negative keywords to avoid wasting budget on users who are unlikely to buy.

Ad Schedule

An ad schedule (also called dayparting) allows you to control the specific days and hours during which your ads are shown. You can also apply bid adjustments to increase or decrease your bids during your highest-converting time periods.

Bidding Strategy

A bidding strategy tells Google how to set your bids for each auction. Common strategies include:

Target CPA: Google automatically sets bids to help you get as many conversions as possible at your target cost per conversion.
Target ROAS: Google sets bids to maximise conversion value while achieving your target return on ad spend.
Maximise Clicks: Google sets bids to get the most clicks possible within your budget.
Maximise Conversions: Google sets bids to get the most conversions possible within your budget.
Manual CPC: You set your own maximum bid for each keyword.

Ad Format Terminology

Google Ads offers several different ad formats, each designed for different goals and placements.

Responsive Search Ads (RSA)

What they are good for: Capturing high-intent search traffic and answering specific user queries with highly relevant messaging.
Why they work: They adapt dynamically to match exactly what the user is searching for. By providing a mix of features, benefits, and calls-to-action, the algorithm learns which combinations drive the highest CTR and conversion rates.
When to use them in a strategy: RSAs are the core of any search-based lead generation or e-commerce strategy. Use them to target specific keywords when users are actively looking for your product or service. They are your primary tool for capturing existing demand.

Performance Max (PMax)

Performance Max is a goal-based, automated campaign type that runs ads across all of Google’s channels from a single campaign, including Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and Maps. You provide creative assets (images, videos, headlines, descriptions, and logos), and Google’s AI determines the best combination and placement to achieve your conversion goals.

What they are good for: Scaling conversions and finding new customers across the entire Google ecosystem, not just on the search results page.
Why they work: They leverage Google’s most advanced machine learning to optimize bids and placements in real-time based on your specific conversion goals (like ROAS or CPA).
When to use them in a strategy: Use PMax when you have clear conversion tracking in place, a solid budget, and high-quality image and video assets. It is highly effective for e-commerce (replacing Smart Shopping) and lead generation when you want to maximize overall volume and are willing to give up some manual control to the algorithm.

Display Ads

Display Ads are visual banner ads (images or HTML5) that appear on millions of websites, apps, and YouTube videos across the Google Display Network.

What they are good for: Brand awareness, keeping your business top-of-mind, and retargeting users who have previously visited your website but didn’t convert.
Why they work: They are highly visual and can reach users before they even start actively searching for your product. The cost-per-click (CPC) is typically much lower than Search ads.
When to use them in a strategy: Use Display Ads at the top of the funnel to build demand and introduce your brand to a targeted audience. They are also crucial for the bottom of the funnel as part of a remarketing strategy to bring “window shoppers” back to your site to complete a purchase or form submission.

Call Assets (Formerly Call Extensions)

(Note: Google deprecated standalone “Call-Only Ads” starting in February 2026. Phone call generation is now handled through Call Assets within Responsive Search Ads.)

What they are good for: Driving immediate, high-intent leads, especially for urgent services (like emergency plumbers, towing, or healthcare) where the user needs to speak to someone right away.
Why they work: They reduce friction by removing the need to navigate a landing page, directly connecting a high-intent searcher with your sales or support team.
When to use them in a strategy: Always include them in Search campaigns if your business has the capacity to answer the phone during ad schedule hours. They are essential for local service businesses and lead-generation campaigns where a phone conversation is the primary sales driver.

Asset Groups

What they are good for: Organising your creative assets by product category, audience type, or promotion so that the right message reaches the right person.
Why they work: By grouping relevant assets together, you help Google’s AI serve the most contextually appropriate ad for each user and placement, improving performance.
When to use them in a strategy: Build separate Asset Groups for each major product line, service offering, or audience segment within your Performance Max campaign. The more specific and well-organised your Asset Groups, the better Google’s AI can optimise.

Ad Extensions (Assets)

What they are good for: Giving searchers more reasons to click and more ways to engage with your business directly from the search results page.
Why they work: A larger, more informative ad takes up more screen real estate, pushes competitors further down the page, and provides multiple entry points (links, calls, locations) that match different user intentions.
When to use them in a strategy: Always add every relevant asset type to every campaign. Assets are one of the highest-ROI improvements you can make to an existing campaign because they improve performance at no additional cost.

Common asset types include:

Sitelink Assets: Additional links to specific pages on your website
Callout Assets: Short phrases highlighting key benefits or offers
Call Assets: Your phone number displayed directly in the ad (now the primary way to generate calls following the deprecation of Call-Only Ads)
Location Assets: Your business address linked to Google Maps
Image Assets: Visual images shown alongside your text ad
Lead Form Assets: A form that users can fill out directly within the ad
Structured Snippet Assets: Lists of specific products, services, or features

Audience and Targeting Terminology

Reaching the right people at the right time is what separates a profitable Google Ads campaign from a wasteful one. These terms describe how your targeting is configured.

Audience Segments

Audience Segments are groups of users defined by their interests, behaviours, demographics, or past interactions with your business. You can target these segments to show your ads to the most relevant users, or use them as observation layers to gather data on how different audiences perform.

Remarketing

Customer Match

Customer Match allows you to upload a list of your existing customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, or mailing addresses. Google matches these to signed-in Google users and allows you to show ads specifically to your existing customer base, or to find new customers who look similar to them.

Similar Segments

Geographic Targeting

Device Targeting

Reporting and Date Range Terms

These terms relate to how data is organised and displayed within your ADM report.

Date Range Comparisons

Segments

Dimensions vs. Metrics

In Google Ads reporting, it is important to understand the difference between dimensions and metrics.

A dimension is a descriptive attribute of your data, such as Campaign Name, Ad Group, Keyword, or Device. Dimensions tell you what you are looking at.
A metric is a quantitative measurement, such as Clicks, Impressions, Cost, or Conversions. Metrics tell you how much of something occurred.

Every table in your ADM report is built by combining dimensions (the rows) with metrics (the columns).

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ADM stand for in Google Ads reporting?

What is the difference between Conversions and All Conversions in Google Ads?

Why does my Search Impression Share fluctuate from week to week?

What is a good Click-Through Rate (CTR) for Google Ads?

What is the difference between CPC and CPA?

How does Quality Score affect my Google Ads costs?

What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and how does it relate to Google Ads?

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the process of creating and structuring content so that it is accurately discovered and cited by AI-powered search engines and answer engines, such as Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, and Perplexity. While GEO primarily applies to organic content, understanding GEO principles helps you create better ad copy and landing page content that aligns with how users phrase their questions to AI systems. At Seymour Digital Media, our content strategy prioritises GEO and content building to ensure your brand is represented accurately across both traditional and AI-driven search experiences.

What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring your content to directly answer specific questions that users ask search engines and AI assistants. AEO focuses on creating clear, concise, authoritative answers that are likely to be featured in position zero (featured snippets), Google’s AI Overviews, or cited by AI chatbots. This glossary itself is an example of AEO in action, as it provides direct, structured answers to the questions your clients are most likely to ask.